1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new practice batting or hitting tee. More particularly, the invention relates to a baseball or softball practice tee which when accidentally hit will quickly be restored to its upright vertical position.
Specifically, the invention provides a new type of baseball and softball practice tee that is bendable and is quickly restored to its upright vertical position when accidentially hit during the batting practice. The new tee broadly comprises an upright pedistal adapted at one terminal end to holding a ball, such as a baseball or softball, and the other end being inserted into the top end of an upright container the bottom end of which is flat for only sufficient length to permit the container to stand upright and much smaller than the upper width of the container and with the edges rounded upward, making in effect a pear shaped container bottom, said bottom of the container possessing an enclosed cavity filled with weighted material of sufficient weight so as to force the said container to quickly return to its vertical position when it has been knocked over by the batter accidentally hitting the tee.
The invention further provides a preferred embodiment of the above-noted invention wherein the upright pedistal is adjustable and can be raised or lowered to fit the needs of the batter.
2. Prior Art
In the game of baseball, one of the most difficult skills to master is hitting. First, a hitter must be able to coordinate the swing of a bat with the location of a ball so that good contact with the ball can be made while swinging the bat. Once this is mastered, the hitter must next learn to make good contact with the ball at the various positions at which it may cross home plate, from an inside pitch to an outside pitch, and from a high pitch to a low pitch, and various combinations of these two variables.
In development of these skills, the trainer or coach uses a baseball tee to support a ball at a selected height above a representation of the baseball home plate. With the ball so positioned, the batter can practice swinging thereat to assist in the process of coordinating his hands with his eyes and in the development of his wrist and arm muscles.
Various practice batting tees have been developed in the past for this purpose. The practice tees developed todate, however, have had various limitations which have limited their overall acceptance in the baseball world. In some cases, the tees have been unstable and easily knocked over if the player hits the tee instead of the ball. This requires the batter to pick up the tee and reset it at the proper place, and this adds to the time and boredom of the practice sessions. In other cases, the tee has been firmly set on a large base and when hit instead of the ball, the stroke against the tee hurts the arms of the young players doing the hitting. In other cases, the tees have not been adjustable and different tees must be used for different hitting zones. In other cases, the tees have been very exemsove to produce, and the cost has been prohibitive for many of the smaller teams.
Following are examples of the prior art which discloses many of the tees having some of the above-noted limitations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,686, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,691, U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,771, U.S. Pat. No. 2,862,712, U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,340, U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,695, U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,692 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,411.
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide a new practice batting tee for baseball and softball which corrects many of the above-described limitations. It is a further object to provide a practice batting tee which when accidentially hit quickly restores itself to the upright position. It is a further object to provide a practice batting tee which when accidentially hit does not hurt the arms of the batter. It is a further object to provide a new practice batting tee does not have to be reset when accidentially hit by the batter. It is a further object to provide a new type of practice batting tee that is easily assembled and economical to produce. It is a further object to provide a batting tee that is adjustable for high or low pitches. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.